Automatically locking slider for zip fastener

ABSTRACT

A slider for zip fastener is provided with means for automatically locking the slider in position on the zip fastener, said means comprising a locking member and a spring member operatively associated therewith. These two members are held in mutually supporting relationship to each other so that the locking member can follow a controlled locus of movement during its locking operation.

ilnited States atent Fukuroi 1 1 AUTOMATICALLY LOCKING SLIDER FOR ZIP FASTENER [75] Inventor: Takeo Fukuroi, Uozu, Japan [73] Assignee: Yoshida Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha,

Tokyo, Japan [22] Filed: Feb. 14, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 226,062

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data [4 June4,1974

2,546,088 3/1951 Corner 24/205.l4 R 2,599,536 6/1952 Backer 24/205.14 R 2,683,911 7/1954 Backer 24/205.l4 3,068,542 12/1962 Firing 1 1 24/205.l4 R 3,320,645 5/1967 Burbank 24/205.14 3,522,638 8/1970 Ambros et a1. 24/205.14

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 653,077 5/1951 Great Britain 24/2()5.14

Primary ExaminerBobby R. Gay Assistant ExaminerKenneth J. Dorner [57] ABSTRACT A slider for zip fastener is provided with means for automatically locking the slider in position on the zip fastener, said means comprising a locking member and a spring member operatively associated therewith. These two members are held in mutually supporting relationship to each other so that the locking member can follow a controlled locus of movement during its locking operation.

6 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENIEBJUR 41974 sum 1 or 2 FIG.1

PATENTEDM 4 m4 3.813.736

saw 2 0r 2 FIG.3

AUTOMATICALLY LOCKING SLIDER FOR ZIP FASTENER This invention relates to sliders for zip fasteners of the automatically locking type.

By the automatically locking type of slider is generally meant a slider having means for automatically holding it in locked position on the zip fastener when the pull tab is released upon the closing of the fastener.

There have hitherto been proposed a number of sliders of this description which essentially comprise an upper and a lower shield constituting a slider body, a yoke attached to the upper shield, a pull tab movably connected to the yoke, a spring member accommodated in the yoke and a locking member underlying the spring and urged thereby into engagement with a space between two adjacent coupling elements on the fastener.

Because of the fact that the spring member is unstably mounted above and without positive interengagement with the locking member, such known sliders have the drawback that it is difficult to define a constant locus for the locking member to follow when urged toward the plane of the fastener; that is to say, the locking member tends to become laterally displaced and hence fails to fit rightly into the space between two adjacent fastener elements, resulting in unintentional movement of the slider. Another disadvantage of the conventional automatically locking sliders is noted in that the slider construction is relatively bulky and less attractive in appearance.

Whereas, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved automatically locking slider which is reliable in operation and attractive in appearance.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide an automatically locking slider of relatively low profile and ofthe construction in which a locking member and a spring member are interengaged in mutually supporting relationship throughout the locking and unlocking operation, thereby ensuring stable locking of the slider on the zip fastener.

These and other objects and features ofthe invention will appear clear from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view on enlarged scale of a slider embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the slider of FIG 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the slider of FIG. 1 shown as in locked position;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the slider in unlocked position;

F IG. 5 is a side elevational view, partly broken away, of a modification of the slider of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a modification of each of the spring member and the locking member;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing another modification of the spring member and its associated slider body; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing still another modification of the spring member and its associated slider body.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the drawings.

An automatically locking slider according to the invention essentially comprises an upper shield and a lower shield connected in spaced parallel relation to each other to form a channel for the passage of a zip fastener carrying rows of coupling elements, a yoke attached to said upper shield and having an opening extending laterally thereof, a pull tab having a pivotal end to hinge said opening, said upper shield being provided at the outer surface with two opposed support members, a recess adjacent the one support member and an aperture adjacent the other support member and communicating with said channel, a locking means for locking the slider in position on the zip fastener, and a resilient means spanning between and supported on said opposed support members for normally urging said locking means into engagement with a space between two adjacent coupling elements of the zip fastener, said locking means and said resilient means being interconnected in mutually supporting relationship to prevent lateral displacement of said locking means during its locking movement.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a slider for zip fastener generally designated by the reference numeral 10 which comprises a slider body 11 constituted by an upper shield 12 with flange 13 and a lower shield 14. The upper and lower shields l2 and 14 are joined at one ends thereof by a neck 15 and spaced apart in parallel from each other to form a channel 16 for the passage of a zip fastener. The upper shield 12 is provided with a yoke 17 to which a pull tab 20 is pivotally attached for moving the slider 10 reciprocally along the rows of interlocking fastener elements for closing and opening the zip fastener. The pull tab 20 has a pivotal end 19 to hinge an opening 18 formed in and extending laterally of the yoke 17;

In one preferred embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, inclusive, and as better shown in FIG. 2 in particular, the upper shield 12 is provided at the outer surface with two opposed support members 21 and 22 for supporting thereon means later described for locking the slider in position on the zip fastener; with a recess 24 adjacent the first support member 21 for receiving therein one end of a locking member 25; and with an aperture 26 adjacent the second support member 2 2 for receiving the other end of the locking member 25.

The first and second support members 21 and 22 are substantially similar in construction and shape and each of which members has a projecting head portion 27 and two shoulder portions 28 on opposite sides of the head 27.

Means according to the invention for automatically locking the slider 10 in position on the fastener comprises a locking member 25 and a spring member 23 operatively associated therewith.

The spring member or leaf spring 23 in one form is shown in HO. 2 as spanning between the opposed support members 21, 22 and comprising normally flat side portions 29, a square aperture 30 formed centrally therein, and two opposite forked prongs or lugs 31 which are bent upwardly into abutting engagement with the inner upper wall of the yoke 17 and which are bore against the head portions 27 of the support members as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 wherein the various parts of the slider are assembled in place. The yoke 17 in the form of a hollow cap is anchored to recesses 32 at the opposite ends of the upper shield 12.

The locking member 25 of the form shown in FIG. 2 is generally shaped like an inverted U and comprises an end portion 33 dimensioned to fit the recess 24 of the upper shield 12, two opposite shoulder portions 34, a neck portion 35 of reduced width and a hook or finger tip 36 depending therefrom.

The manner in which the locking member 25 cooperates with the spring member 23 will be better understood from referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 wherein the locking member 25 has a part of the neck portion 35 engaged in and projecting slightly above the square aperture 30 of the spring member 23, with the flat side portions 29 thereof bearing against the shoulders 34, the arrangement being such that they are cooperatively interengaged to retain their respective positional stability against lateral displacement which may otherwise occur when the spring member urges the locking member into engagement with a space between two adjacent fastener elements.

FIG. 3 illustrates the slider as in locked position wherein the pull tab is released to lie flat on the upper shield 12 under the influence of tension in the spring member 23, with the finger tip 36 of the locking member urged thereby through the aperture 26 in the upper shield 12 into the channel 16 to anchor at a space between two adjacent fastener elements of the zip fastener whereby the slider 10 is locked in position onthe fastener.

FIG. 4 illustrates the slider 10 as in unlocked position wherein the pull tab 20 is lifted against the tension of the spring 23, pulling the locking member 25out of engagement with the said space of the fastener whereby the slider 10 is allowed to move along the rows of fastener elements for closing or opening the zip fastener.

The outstanding features of the present invention reside in the above described construction of the slider in which the locking member 25 is interconnected in mutually supporting relationship to the spring member 23 so that it can move invariably along a controlled locus without being dispaced particularly sidewise throughout the locking and unlocking modes of operation shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively.

It will be understood that various changes or modifications may be made in the form and construction that have been advanced herein above without departing from the scope of the appended claims. Examples of such modified embodiments of the invention will now be further described with reference to the remaining figures of the drawings.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is characterized by the provision of the supporting shoulders 34 of the locking member 25 for abutment substantially with the center region of the flat side portions 29 of the spring 23.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is directed to the provision of a spring member 23 and a locking member 25 which are identical with those already described and illustrated in FIG. 2, with the exception as regards the spring member 23 that the square aperture 30 is substituted by two opposite side recesses 30a forming therebetween a reduced land and with the exception as regards the locking member 25 that there is provided an aperture 41 therein for receiving the said reduced land 40, more specifically with the land 40 rested on opposite marginal edges 42 of the locking member 25 when the slider is assembled.

FIG. 7 illustrates the embodiment in which the spring member 23 is provided with a single prong 43 which is bent upwards on each end thereof, and in which there is formed a recess 44 in each of the two opposed support members 21, 22 for receiving therein the corresponding prong 43.

FIG. 8 illustrates the embodiment in which the spring member 23 is provided at each end with an upwardly bent prong 43a which is relatively wide and in which the support members 21, 22 on the upper shield 12 are provided each with a support surface 45 inclined to fit snug with the corresponding prong 43a.

What is claimed is:

1. An automatically locking slider for a zip fastener comprising a slider body having an upper shield and a lower shield connected in spaced parallel relation to each other to form a channel for the passage of a zip fastener carrying rows of coupling elements, a yoke attached to said upper shield and having an opening extending laterally thereof, a pull tab having a pivotal end to hinge said opening, said upper shield being provided at the outer surface with two opposed support members, a recess adjacent the one support member and an aperture adjacent the other support member and communicating with said channel, a locking means for locking the slider in position on the zip fastener, and a resilient means spanning between and supported on said opposed support members for normally urging said locking means into engagement with a space between two adjacent coupling elements of the zip fastener. said resilient means having parts on each of two opposite ends that are received and laterally constrained by respective parts on said support members. said locking means and said resilient means being interconnected by a part of one extending through an aperture of the other in mutually supporting relationship to prevent lateral displacement of said locking means during its locking movement.

2. An automatically locking slider as defined in claim I wherein said locking means comprises a member of generally inverted-U shape having one end engaged in said recess of the upper shield and the other end or finger tip movable through said aperture into and out of said channel.

3. An automatically locking slider as defined in claim I wherein said resilient means is a leaf spring having an aperture for engagement with said locking means and upwardly bent prongs at opposite ends bearing against said support members.

4. An automatically locking slider as defined in claim 1 wherein said resilient means is provided with side recesses forming therebetween a reduced land and said locking means is provided with an aperture for engagement with said reduced land.

5. An automatically locking slider as defined in claim 1 wherein said opposed support members are provided each with shoulders and a head projecting therebetween.

6. An automatically locking slider as defined in claim 1 wherein said opposed support members are provided each with an inclined support surface. 

1. An automatically locking slider for a zip fastener comprising a slider body having an upper shield and a lower shield connected in spaced parallel relation to each other to form a channel for the passage of a zip fastener carrying rows of coupling elements, a yoke attached to said upper shield and having an opening extending laterally thereof, a pull tab having a pivotal end to hinge said opening, said upper shield being provided at the outer surface with two opposed support members, a recess adjacent the one suppOrt member and an aperture adjacent the other support member and communicating with said channel, a locking means for locking the slider in position on the zip fastener, and a resilient means spanning between and supported on said opposed support members for normally urging said locking means into engagement with a space between two adjacent coupling elements of the zip fastener, said resilient means having parts on each of two opposite ends that are received and laterally constrained by respective parts on said support members, said locking means and said resilient means being interconnected by a part of one extending through an aperture of the other in mutually supporting relationship to prevent lateral displacement of said locking means during its locking movement.
 2. An automatically locking slider as defined in claim 1 wherein said locking means comprises a member of generally inverted-U shape having one end engaged in said recess of the upper shield and the other end or finger tip movable through said aperture into and out of said channel.
 3. An automatically locking slider as defined in claim 1 wherein said resilient means is a leaf spring having an aperture for engagement with said locking means and upwardly bent prongs at opposite ends bearing against said support members.
 4. An automatically locking slider as defined in claim 1 wherein said resilient means is provided with side recesses forming therebetween a reduced land and said locking means is provided with an aperture for engagement with said reduced land.
 5. An automatically locking slider as defined in claim 1 wherein said opposed support members are provided each with shoulders and a head projecting therebetween.
 6. An automatically locking slider as defined in claim 1 wherein said opposed support members are provided each with an inclined support surface. 